New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to have overcome its internal rift ahead of 2014 general elections as the newly appointed party poll campaign chief Narendra Modi and veteran leader LK Advani sat together at a meeting to formulate strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Narendra Modi sat next to the party patriarch LK Advani, who had resigned from all party posts few weeks back, apparently to show his displeasure against the Gujarat CM’s elevation. The 85-year-old rescinded his resignation a day later, after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat intervened.

Sources claimed that Advani's body language, during the three-hour meeting of the parliamentary board, was ‘positive’. Advani gave suggestions on a couple of issues during the board meeting and appeared to endorse the views expressed by Modi and others, they said.

"We have unshackled ourselves from our internal problems. The issue is now to take on the Congress on issues of corruption, price rise, lack of economic growth and internal security," a party leader said.

The issues that figured in the meeting included alleged ‘misuse’ of CBI against the backdrop of probe report into Ishrat killing and government's decision to promulgate Ordinance on Food Security Bill.

"Ideas were invited and discussed by the party top brass from the general secretaries," a source said.

Though the much-expected announcement of leaders who will be a part of the election campaign committee was not announced on Thursday, Modi himself has begun the exercise to reach out to the people and party workers from different parts of the country.

Modi to start campaign via video-conference

Modi will address around 1,500 party workers of Bihar through video-conferencing on Friday from Ahmedabad. He had conducted similar exercises successfully in Gujarat during the assembly elections in December.

He will also be visiting Puri on July 16 to participate in a party programme and interact with BJP workers. The Gujarat Chief Minister was to visit Andhra Pradesh on July 27 for a similar exercise but is likely to postpone it to August due to the Panchayat elections in the state.

Modi's recent visit to Mumbai was also a part of the same plan of reaching out to prospective voters and workers. "Who all are made a part of the election campaign committee is immaterial. Modi's style of functioning is well-known. In Gujarat all the action is around him. Same will be the case with this committee," a leader said.

The BJP parliamentary board is meeting again on July 8 to discuss the plans of reaching out to the people ahead of the assembly polls in five states and the Lok Sabha polls due in 2014.

In Thursday's meeting, the parliamentary board discussed the roadmap for the election campaign. A ‘vikas patra (development paper)’ on the achievements of the erstwhile NDA government and a ‘aarop patra (charge sheet)" on the failures of the UPA government will be prepared and taken to the people.

Meetings with groups of workers from the booth level upwards will be held in phases by the central leaders.

Nitin Gadkari, who is on a visit to Norway, and Murli Manohar Joshi were not present in Thursday's meeting.